10 years have gone by in the blink of an eye. After spending the past few months preparing to celebrate 10 years, I can now step back and reflect on the past 10 years and what it means to have run a studio for a decade. 

Over the past 10 years, The Pilates Studio Swansea has remained committed to teaching the original Pilates Method, helping clients move better, feel better and gain a deeper understanding of their bodies through consistent, high-quality Pilates teaching.

How does a business make it to double digits

Concept: The first step to building a business is to have a service to provide. In the case of Pilates, it’s being able to teach The Pilates Method, and teach it well enough to an entire studio.  My teaching journey actually began 28 years ago when I became a client. By the time I opened my own studio I had taught for over 13 years in over 6 studios in 2 countries. 10 of those years had been spent learning/understanding a different market from where I trained (UK versus USA) and understanding how my knowledge worked for my client base.

Client base: The next step is to organically grow with your client base. I started teaching mat sessions in Newton Hall 5 years before I opened my studio and teaching private sessions regularly in my home studio for 4 years. I did not ‘Build it and They will Come’.  I did ‘Strive to provide an excellent service for long lasting success’. The studio opened fully booked and steadily grew with demand over 10 years. 

Continued Professional Development: Simultaneously with teaching, I also sought out further growth for myself. I travelled to the USA and Holland for CPE with master teachers.  When experienced teachers began to visit the UK, I re-connected with teachers, seeking out experienced teachers from whom to learn. When the studio in London opened I spent weekends in London, first observing and then supporting the training program. And I taught, taking all the knowledge I was gaining and incorporating it into my clients’ work. Constant growth of myself as a teacher, honing my skills and deepening my knowledge.

Consistency: A global pandemic radically changed our industry, firstly by opening the door to online learning and secondly by driving a whole new perception of the industry via social media.  Being able to reach clients as well as fellow teachers during lockdown was an incredible opportunity in terms of learning and sharing but it also led to a dilution of learning with the inundation of online courses that lack the critical development of hands on and eyes on teaching. Instead of capitalising on reach through social media, I remained focused on my physical clients, retaining over 90% of our clients when we reopened.  We now offer online teaching alongside the same high quality in person Pilates sessions.

Excellence: The rise of the influence of social media provided a new way to reach clients and enthusiasts. It has also driven trends and concepts of Pilates that have drowned out the essence and core concepts of the original methodology,  taking the ‘contemporary’ revolution of Pilates to such extremes that the majority of Pilates on social media has nothing to do with the actual Method of Pilates. More grippy socks, more ‘flow’, more weights, more complicated, more physio therapy based, more reformers rammed into a space-  all distract and deflect from the effectiveness of the Pilates methodology in the pursuit of profit on the Pilates bandwagon.  The secret isn’t to chaotically offer the next best trend or cater to a certain look, it’s to offer an invaluable service. Being consistent, maintaining depth of teaching in rising waters of online weekend certified studios, pilates-ish styles, and Inst-Pilates, has allowed the studio to maintain clients and more importantly, the high standard of our client’s work, giving the actual results of the Pilates Method.

Community: As one of the few 2nd generation teachers in the UK,  my door has always been open to any Pilates client, teacher, and enthusiast from any background at any level.  I love to share my knowledge with anyone interested in The Method. I share my decades of experience working with clients outside the studio to my local community and beyond. And I have developed the skillset of teacher training to continue teaching the next generation of teachers comprehensively in the Pilates Method.  

In a nutshell, 10 years of a successful studio is the result of continually and consistently providing excellent service while growing as a studio, a teacher and a teacher trainer.  The holistic original method of Pilates is powerful and effective, providing more consistent results over lesser more diluted versions and enhancing daily life and movement.  As in Life, strive to be excellent at what you do and be clear in what you offer. 

Looking to Learn More?

If you would like to learn more about The Pilates Method or explore classes at The Pilates Studio Swansea, please get in touch. We'd be delighted to welcome you to The Studio.